by David Redmond
Reddit is a platform used by millions to connect with like-minded people each day. In recent weeks though there’s been controversy on the platform, resulting in a massive protest where many subreddits went dark. One of the subs protesting was r/Blind which went offline for the first time in its ten-year history
We caught up with one of the r/Blind moderators, u/MostlyBlindGamer, who tells us about Reddit, the blind community using it, and why so many communities are protesting.
Firstly, what is Reddit and what are subreddits?
Reddit started as a place where people would share links to things, they found interesting, funny, or useful. Then you could comment on them and on what you found most interesting or less so. That way, the users decide, together, on what shows up on the front page. It’s a really interesting way to discover things.
It’s evolved, grown, and changed over time. In fact, it got so big that it was split up into subreddits: separate, but connected, communities dedicated to specific topics. Whatever you’re interested in, there’s a subreddit for that – jokes, cycling, cooking, movies, gaming, photography, etc. There are also communities for countries, cities, sports teams and for other groups, including and this is especially important – marginalized groups and support groups.
Tell me a bit about r/Blind. How many members do it and how do people use the sub?
r/Blind is one of those subreddits dedicated to a group of people. Its 20 thousand or so members come together to discuss blindness and low vision and how that affects them, their loved ones, and the world around them. People who are blind and visually impaired talk about their struggles and their strategies to overcome them. and about their successes and their growth – people often ask if they should use a white cane and come back to share the excitement of their greater independence. Friends and family of blind people come to learn how to best support them and bring them joy – popular topics include gift suggestions and ideas for dates. Accessibility experts come to learn more from some of the people they dedicate themselves to working with. Students and researchers ask about how they can make the world a better place for this community. It’s a diverse and thriving community dedicated to empowerment and mutual support.
Most Subs have volunteer moderators, and you’re one of the mods for r/Blind. What does that entail?
Reddit is one of the largest websites on the internet. This size and the traffic that comes with it mean many people can get together and discuss and learn about myriad topics. That also means there’s spam and potentially harmful content to deal with. We have a team with different backgrounds and levels of vision that tackles these issues to keep the community safe and pleasant. It also involves listening to the members addressing their concerns. We used to be flooded with research questions, so we changed our rules to deal with that, for example – that’s all about balance. As of late, listening to the members has meant getting their feedback on the protest.
Many subs have closed in protest this week. r/Blind has gone dark for the first time in 10 years. Why is this?
Reddit has made pricing changes to the system that allows apps to talk to the website (the API). They announced they would be doing that in March and on May 31st they announced the new price: from free to one that would cost one app developer 20 million dollars a year. There wasn’t enough time for developers to make changes and Reddit wasn’t open to negotiation. This pricing makes it nearly impossible for third-party apps to operate. Since Reddit’s website and official apps aren’t appropriately accessible to disabled people, including the blind community, this change pushes us out of the platform.
Reddit has agreed to provide free access to the API for those making accessibility-related tools. What’s your response to this?
Our response has been asking Reddit what “accessibility focused apps” are. The apps that will no longer be able to operate are certainly more accessibility focused than Reddit’s. Some are open source and accept accessibility-related improvements from the developer community. Most of their developers – sometimes a single person, often just a few – are open to feedback and make changes, while Reddit fails to respond to feedback and leaves accessibility related bugs in limbo.
The developers that seek exemptions are also barred from selling their apps or serving ads. Reddit can sell their inaccessible product and host ads, yet the people who are making it accessible must turn that into, essentially, charity work.
There are a few other issues with this. NSFW (not safe for work) content won’t be delivered by these apps anymore. That may include content of a sexual nature, but also topics that are sensitive, such as violence, substance abuse or mental health issues. Should disabled people not be able to talk about these? And how will moderators deal with these issues when they can’t read them? Speaking of moderators, the apps that are, so far, exempted lack robust moderation tools that let us react quickly and effectively. How can we expect to keep a community built around blindness together, if blind people can’t actively participate in its moderation?
How have you felt about the whole situation? Both as a moderator and as a user of the platform?
I’m personally sad and disappointed. Reddit’s private and public communications reveal that accessibility was never as big of a concern as it should have been. The company hasn’t dedicated enough resources to it over the years and now seems to be scrambling to deal with this situation. Well over 8000 subreddits joined the protest. Dozens of them have 20, 30 or 40 million subscribers. That’s what it took to get Reddit’s attention.
That being said, the broader Reddit community’s support has been incredible. Millions of people are learning about web accessibility for the first time. They’re supporting this cause and so many are willing to go as long and as far as it takes to guarantee equal access for blind people. It’s heart-warming and nothing short of extraordinary.
Because of this movement, many disabled people feel seen in a way they never have before. In the end, this isn’t about a website, it’s about people. People are coming together for the greater good.
What happens next?
We’re still in talks with Reddit. We have raised our concerns and we expect them to be addressed. In the future, we expect to be involved in changes that affect us. We’re still here and the subreddit is public, to support its members, but we’re still protesting. Many others are still private, and many will continue protesting in different ways. It’s all about the people, so we’ll all keep working with other people.